Starkville's Kameron Jones flips from Louisiana to MSU

Starkville High School senior Kameron Jones poses for a picture with some of his teammates Wednesday afternoon after he received a late scholarship offer from Mississippi State and signed to play for the Bulldogs. Photo by: Contributed

STARKVILLE -- Kameron Jones was outside of the Starkville High School Auditorium, minutes away from signing a National Letter of Intent to join the Louisiana-Lafayette football program Wednesday morning.

Jones then received a call he wasn't expecting.

The call from Mississippi State forced Jones to miss Starkville High's scheduled National Signing Day ceremony so he could contemplate a scholarship offer. It didn't take Jones long to make a decision and to force Starkville High football coach Chris Jones to schedule a second signing day ceremony at 1:30 p.m. to celebrate his decision to attend MSU.

he ultimately signed on Wednesday -- with MSU.

"I didn't have any problem with going to UL. I liked everything (UL Lafayette coach Billy) Napier and their staff had to offer, but it's nothing like home," Jones said.

When MSU called Jones with the offer, his first action was a call to his mother. Naturally, she was excited. Her first reaction was to jump at the offer. He had the same reaction.

"I've been by Mississippi State my whole life," Jones said. "I got to be around (the new coaches) last week and heard their vision. It was a no-brainer."

MSU hosted Jones for an official visit late in the recruiting period, where he talked to new MSU coach Joe Moorhead and met new offensive line coach Marcus Johnson.

"He's a down-to-earth guy, a guy you can really vibe with, but a guy that will coach you hard and you know he's going to help you," Jones said. "The offense we plan to run is similar to what I ran at my high school."

Jones was an All-Star tackle in an offense that fueled a run to the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A State championship game. It was that performance that put him on the radar for MSU and Louisiana. Ragin' Cajuns' assistant offensive line coach D.J. Looney was on the MSU staff last season.

Jones said it was a difficult decision despite the obvious attraction of MSU.

"I felt like I owed them at least a call to tell them why," Jones said.

Moorhead credited Starkville High coach Chris Jones and his staff for their work in helping Jones develop.

"He's a guy that's been to camp here and we got a lot of positive feedback from our coaches on staff," Moorhead said. "I think in a year's time he has really developed. He's up to 295 pounds, played in the (Mississippi-Alabama Senior All-Star) game and did a really good job. We were excited to get him over here."